OBAMA MAKES NUCLEAR COMPROMISE TO PASS

CLEAN ENERGY BILL

Excerpted from Guardian.co.uk: July 8, 2009

The Obama administration endorsed a revival of

America’s nuclear industry yesterday in an effort to

build forward momentum for climate change legislation

before the Senate.

“I think nuclear power is going to be a very important

factor in getting us to a low carbon future,” [Steven

Chu, energy secretary] told the Senate’s environment

and public works committee. “Quite frankly, we want

to recapture the lead on industrial nuclear power. We

have lost that lead in many energy technologies and we

want to get it back.”

Republicans in the Senate…as well as Democrats from

rust belt states, have been clamouring for a “nuclear

renaissance” in America, which would see the

construction of 100 new nuclear power plants by 2030.

“Clean energy is to this decade and the next what the

space race was to the 1950s and 60s and America is

behind,” [Lisa Jackson, head of the EPA] told the

Senate. “Governments in Asia and Europe are ahead of

the United States in making aggressive investments in

clean energy technology.”

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CHINA TO INCREASE NUCLEAR CAPACITY

TEN-FOLD BY 2020

Excerpted from BusinessGreen.com: July 6, 2009

Government increases nuclear energy target for the third

time in the past year [Yvonne Chan in Hong Kong].

China plans to increase its installed nuclear power

capacity almost 10-fold to 86GW by 2020, as part of a bid

to challenge coal’s dominant position in the country’s

energy mix. The new goal builds on the 40 GW target for

nuclear power capacity that was announced last year for

the year 2020, and which was revised in April this year to

70GW.

China currently has 11 nuclear reactors…Work on a

further 24 reactors is now underway, with 22 GW of

nuclear power capacity under construction as of last

year.

Nuclear energy has been earmarked by the government

as a key component in China’s push to curb its carbon

emissions and reduce the country’s reliance on coal.

China is the world’s second largest energy user after the

US, but accounts for only two per cent of the nuclear

power produced globally, according to the International

Atomic Energy Agency.

Nuclear power is also enjoying a renaissance across the

Asia-Pacific region. For example, Japan last month said it

would need to generate about 40 per cent of its

electricity from nuclear power by 2020 in order to meet

greenhouse gas reduction goals.

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ITALY OVERTURNS NUCLEAR BAN

Excerpted from Nuclear Engineering International:

July 10, 2009

The Italian Parliament has overturned a ban on civil

nuclear power that dates back to 1987…The law gives

the government six months to prepare rules for a

revival of the nuclear sector...

In a statement, Enel CEO Fulvio Conti said: “…The

return of nuclear in Italy is a strategic opportunity for

rebuilding the scientific, technological and industrial

chain that is indispensible for stabilizing the costs of

electrical energy generation, reducing the dependence

of raw material imports and fighting climate change.”

Commenting on the adoption of Italy’s new nuclear law,

the Director General of FORATOM (the association

representing the European nuclear industry), Santiago

San Antonio, said: “This historic decision shows that the

nuclear revival across Europe continues to gather

momentum and that more and more countries now

recognize that the arguments in favour of nuclear

energy are irresistible. It will inspire other countries

that are considering a similar political path to press

ahead.”

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BRIEFS: BRAZIL

Excerpted from Uranium Intelligence Weekly: June 15, 2009

Brazil plans to build four new nuclear plans by 2030 at

two sites, a government official said last week. The first

plant is expected to come on line in 2019 at a northeast

site, and another site will be developed in southeast

Brazil. The four new plants will be in addition to the

Angra-3 reactor, where construction is expected to

resume this year…The announcement, delivered by

Secretary of Energy Planning Altino Ventura of the

Ministry of Mines and Energy, is seen as confirmation of

Brazil’s plans to significantly expand its nuclear

capacity.

NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL &

EASTERN EUROPE

Excerpted from Ux Weekly: July 6, 2009

For years now, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has

been moving towards nuclear energy and away from

more polluting fossil fuels, which have led to elevated

CO2 emissions in the region. In fact, recent geopolitical

issues coupled with the disruption of gas supplies from

Russia have made nuclear development a top priority to

ensure energy security within the region.

Toth, [Mr. Ferenc Toth, head of the Planning and

Economic Studies Section for The International Atomic

Energy Agency], indicated that the drivers of the future

energy mix in Central and Eastern Europe are energy

supply security, fossil fuel prices, climate change, and

public acceptance.

With the CEE countries far below meeting Kyoto 2006

GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, nuclear power is

becoming more promising, particularly with the higher

percentage of coal currently utilized in the region.

…while commercial nuclear plans of the CEE countries

are nowhere as ambitious as that of Asia, this region

certainly holds tremendous potential in closing the GDP

gap with Western Europe and becoming more selfsufficient…

With the need to replace older fossil

generating capacity, and climate change concerns and

GHG mitigation becoming increasingly important,

nuclear power is not an all-purpose elixir for the CEE

countries, but it certainly could be part of the cure in

the years to come.

G8 ENDORSES EMISSIONS CUTS AND NUCLEAR

Excerpted from World Nuclear News: July 9, 2009

Leaders of the G8 have agreed goals for global

greenhouse gas emission reductions and have

witnessed the essential role to be played by nuclear

energy.

…the leaders agreed to a goal of achieving at least a

50% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by

2050…the G8 ‘witnessed’ that a growing number of

countries see nuclear power as a means to address

climate change and energy security, with an essential

role in meeting the dual challenge of reducing

greenhouse gas emissions and lowering fossil fuel

consumption.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) responded to the

G8 declaration with delight at the strong focus on the

need for increased investment in energy supplies,

energy efficiency and low-carbon technology. The IEA’s

own projections suggested that more than half of the

emissions reductions required to achieve a 50%

reduction in global emissions would come from energy

efficiency, with greater use of renewable and nuclear

power also playing important roles.

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